Claire Kennedy Design

A pleasant reprieve

When my cousin was going through law school she was famous for reading some novel that she could just wisp through, wouldn't be tested on and love the fact that she didn't have to remember each dialog for the rest of her life!!!

That's the way I thought about my client's Italian wool pants. 

This was the most amazing fabric I've put my hands on in years....it was such a pleasure, and after doing so much handwork....hopefully you can see it in these pictures....the wool almost felt like fine silk it was so smooth, and the hand was incredibly smooth.  Here in the Southern Plains, this weight wool (usually called 120's which refers to the number of threads per inch in the fabric.  When the fiber is very fine, the higher number means a much finer and softer wool.) Anyway, this weight is perfect for us - we can wear it year round.

I decided to give that Tiger Tape recommended by Lindsay a good try here.  So of course I had to measure out from the seam allowance just where I wanted the hand picking on the zipper.

Once in place, just a piece of cake to put in the hand picked zipper.  This is reminiscent of some beautiful menswear I've seen and this wool deserved that fine detail.

Then sewing it together (I had already done and perfected a muslin for this client, so making up the pants is without the multiple fittings the muslin demands).

Pressing the side slant for the side pocket, and then again time to place the Tiger Tape on the pocket instead of that drab ol' top stitching!

 

And voila....a perfectly beautiful hand picked top stitching.  It made the pants!

Did you see the Oscar nominations?

I love this time of year....to see all the award nominations and watch everything transpire for the next month till the awards!

It's like when I trek to the movie....yeah, the stars are great, but I always look to see who did the music and the costumes.

Of course I always have a favorite, but this year's there's stiff competition, probably the most notorious is "Young Victoria".

Even though I would like to believe that there were many people working on the Chanel movie, there were tons working on the Victoria movie...these historical costume movie require so many people to do all the detail, and therefore awarding and recognizing them means that the movie that employs the most is usually the one that gets the award.  There are a few exceptions, but you can pretty much pick out which ones are in contention.

Doesn't keep me from wishing though!

I wonder if there's a Victoria jacket?!!!

At Last....(and no I'm not Etta James!)

Begrudgingly I'm having to let go of my Chanel jacket.  I have adored making this.  Truth be told I love hand work:  it's peaceful, accomplishing and probably reminds me of a simpler time.  I also like the fact that if the world went to hell in a handbasket, I actually could make up a dress totally by hand - it would take foreeeeever, but I could do it.

Isn't this just the cat's meow?  And for the long, thin, bird-neck person I am, that collar is fabulous.  It's more of a classic style, than something closely fitted like most of today's jackets are, simply because I don't want this to be dated.

I put a little video on the Go Chanel or Go Home blog....but here are some details.

First, I loved the fit and make-up of this jacket.  BWOF 4/2004 #112 - it's so old the archives don't have it up any more...

Needless to say, the hidden closure was altered to account for trim and button closure.  Additionally, the welt pockets were replaced with patch pockets the more traditional Chanel jacket look.

As far as assemblage, this is fairly common sense...use an excellent bouclé, then I used my "when you don't know what to use for interfacing use silk organza" interfacing here:

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Then laid the lining piece on top and pinned these pieces together on the seam line - which for my pattern pieces 1½" seam allowances.  I had some problems with this...mentioned later.

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A long view of the sleeve after quilting.  You can use a variety of quilting patterns, but I selected this one, probably because of the traditional quilting pattern.  Also to really test my new walking foot, which came through the test with flying colors.

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This shows the pattern I used for quilting that when pressed, turned out beautifully and just how excellently the walking foot worked, cause all I did was guide the piece up and down, and that's all.

 

The next major change I made in the pattern was the collar.  This is a strong collar something that works very well for me - these types of collars are and have always been my personal preference.  This is an old technique, but something that makes a beautiful detail.  Trapunto stitching is a stitching usually in even increments in rows or scaled outlines of a design.  Here's one example of straight-stitch trapunto, and here's another of a design outline.

In the case of this collar, I just outlined the collar, row after row, till I met the neckline.  This did several things.  Keeping the lines was the same quilting them of the jacket, and this also make the collar a  lot more stable.  Bouclé, by it's nature is very flimsy, and if it is not backed, then some sort of technique or interfacing or stabilizing insert needs to be made.  There is also the fact that bouclé is very drapey (I know it's not a word, but it's sooo descriptive here), and the look I wanted here was a stand up collar that would last through the test of time.

 

This was my original model

 

This is the finished look.  This shows the various changes in design made during the process of assembling the jacket.  The extended rounded shoulders of the  model are pretty, but they are dated to me, so I elected a traditional set-in sleeve look.  I'm cold-natured, and prefer long sleeves, so the 3/4 sleeve length on the model wasn't for me.  I do like the idea of buttoning only to the waist or thereabouts, and incorporated this into the design.  The length is about the same, I probably lowered this a tad in front, which is another design mechanism I'm fond of - it actually works to de-accentuate the hips!

The bottom line:  if you've never made a Chanel type jacket, it's well worth the effort.  Not only will you end up with a beautiful addition to your wardrobe, you will gain an unique look into one of the world's finest techniques.  After making up this jacket, I am in awe of not only the technique, but the creation of the technique.  The detail and work involved is fabulous, but the idea that someone went to all the trouble of doing all the problem-solving in working out all the bugs in the technique of making up this jacket is more awe-inspiring.

It's a little like playing Beethoven and being swept up in his emotionalism of the piece, or copying a Monet to understand the technique of capturing light.  I feel as though I've had a little personal time with Coco, and her creativity!

Another snowy day....oh boy!!!

Why does snow and cold weather always bring just a little glee to our hearts - possibly because it gives us a day or two to catch up and even - dare to dream - do some things we want to do.....or maybe just slows things down a little so we can reflect on stuff - you know the important stuff!!!

I get so many wonderful emails and responses from all you who are reading my humble little musings here, and am most thrilled that some of you are sewing now and even again.

What thrills me the most is what is awaiting you.  There's a whole array of projects out there waiting for you to discover them.  But more than that, it's not only what you can add to the lives of those you love, but what you can add to your own life.

I sometimes think that in our mother/wife/job duties we forget how much our sewing can add to our own lives.  It has been through this blog, that I have realized how much sewing means and does and provides for me. 

There's the part about my satisfied customers, which is great and fine.

There's the part of accomplishing something useful, which is nicely rewarding.

There's the part about how I have added to my family's benefit, which is equally as rewarding.

But there's the part about my wardrobe.  What I ad to me and my lifestyle.  I have discovered just how spoiled I am.  Everything in my closet fits (or pretty close to it), and looks good on me, and is the color I want, and provides the purpose I intended. And if it doesn't, I work it till it does. 

I can remember the day, pre-sewing, when I was reliant on what stores had to offer, which was some good things but also some mish-mash of things that 1.) looked good on the hanger and couldn't help but look good on me, 2.) was a great color - if only it was in the right size, 3.) felt I needed it whether I did or not, it was a classic....and on and on. 

No more.  Not only does everything fit - into MY life, into MY shape and into MY desires - but if I do need something - which seems to be last minute - I just take out a piece of fabric and sew it up.

This is like I am my own designer.  I get to have what I want - not what a 5th Ave designer, clothes buyer, or store owner decides what I can have available to me.

Have a cocktail party to go to - make up a dress.

 

Going to the beach - need a great sundress...whip one up.

Have a wedding to go to - make up a classic pale colored dress.

Have a special date coming up - make up a great looking outfit.

Job change, or re-locating to a different climate - with a few extra items your wardrobe is updated and becomes workable and usable for you.

The possibilities are endless.  So for the effort of learning and practicing some basic skills, you have the freedom that only a very select few enjoy.

First previews on Chanel jacket

Between brides and my Chanel jacket and the AFC & NFC playoffs...life is full!!!  Great football and two great games - will make the Super Bowl even more fun as well as watching the ads.

OK - here's how I'm coming on the jacket.  I put the sleeve in and ended up with this.

You may not be able to see this, but I could sure tell when I fitted it....there was no ease whatsoever in the sleeve head.  And this is a great experiment to try sometime....try putting in a sleeve with no ease - where it goes in very easily and fits  in with no stretching or easing of any kind.  You end up with a sleeve like this....

It's smooth, but there's no header bump.  That part on the top of the sleeve that is the tell-tale sign of a great inserted sleeve header.

This was not going to work on my Chanel jacket, so after trying about 3 different techniques, this is the one that worked most for me.  This is a technique I've seen on many fine menswear, so it's a standard technique, however it is not the common finishing technique on the sleeve.  The traditional finishing technique here is to finish the same way all the other seams are finished:  fashion fabric sewn on machine and lining seams finished by folding over and catch stitching the seam closed.  However in this circumstance, the sleeve head wouldn't hold up with out the support of the lining. 

In this method, you sew the entire sleeve including lining from both bodice and sleeve.  Then bind the edge of the seam so that all that shows is the binding.  For me and this pattern, this technique was the only way to allow the shoulder head to pop or stay up.  This also allowed the ease through the shoulder head which gives comfort in wearing as well as a very tailored look.  I'm OK with this cause even though this isn't the standard Chanel technique here.  It does not take detract from the look or the feel of the jacket as Chanel had conceived it.

What kept happening installing the sleeve the original Chanel method was that the seam kept turning to the inside of the jacket, even when pressed.  If I tacked the seam down to stay so it was turning toward the jacket side, this resulted in the same "un-eased" look.  After using several techniques, this was the one that worked for me.  This could easily be caused by the cut of the pattern as I used a BWOF 4/2004 #112 - so old they don't archive it anymore.  It was not a classic Chanel jacket and I did several alterations to make it work.  But I love the way this style fits me.

You can see here, that the sleeve head definitely pops, and looks very tailored.

Again this is probably hard to see - I'm not sure how to photography this, but there is enough ease all the way around the top of this sleeve head to offer ease in the shoulder movement and this is a dead giveaway for an exceptional tailored look, which is exactly what I wanted and knew would fit well.

 

The methods used to make a Chanel jacket are almost sacrosanct, but I don't feel they are law.  And the technique I used here to finish the armscye on the inside did not affect the overall look or feel of the jacket, even though this is taking liberties with original techniques of the jacket. 

The point is that you don't have to do anything except pay taxes and die....yada, yada, yada.  Everything can be improved on or a variation made of it.  There are a number of "correct" ways to install a sleeve head into an armscye and it doesn't matter which one you use, as long as the finished garment has that finished crisp look of a tailored sleeve head.  And even though this is not the traditional method of inserting and finished the sleeve head, the method used here works.

I'm not saying the sleeve head is the end all to a jacket or garment, but it's one of those things that if you can do it well, it really makes your clothes look professional.

More to come!

Vogue Patterns Site

I grew up sewing on Vogue Patterns.  Maybe that's why I expect a lot more from them.   I adored the detail not only in the line and design, but also the markings.  One of the few pattern companies that marked shoulder, waist, base of neck, bust and hip on all their patterns. 

But they have revamped their site....hopefully the beginning of more of those wonderful patterns I used to get and remember growing up with!

 

So far I love what they've done on their new site....it seems to be a lot easier to navigate and has an air of elegance, which Vogue Patterns so deserves.

At least I'm having fun navigating through the site finding stuff I'd never seen before!

Giveaway Winner

Finally the winner....work  gets in the way of so much fun!!!  OK my work really is fun....so it's not really work....it's really fun...OK...I digress....

The famous random generator hath spoken: it came up with #17

Congratulations on the 17th entry into the contest....Fran Giacobbe - I'll email you to get your snail mail and send out the goodies.

And thanks to all of you for your great ideas and sign up for the newsletters.  I'm really looking forward to this, and getting some useful info to you but most of all to encourage you all to sew!!!

Right now I'm finishing up my Chanel jacket (yes, miracles never cease) for my jacket class in February.  It's coming along beautifully, but had to stop to work on a pair of killer gorgeous Italian 120 weight wool pants for a client.  I had been doing so much hand work on the jacket, that I did all hand top stitching on the pants.  This hand-stitching can be addictive!

What I kept thinking, while working ont he Chanel jacket, was how much Karl now brings in for a custom designed/sized jacket....which is what each and every one of the gals are doing over on the Chanel blog. 

Well, I looked it up...off the rack (no sizing, custom or nothing) is $5,000....that's cheap.   But the custom fitted jacket - is a cool $20,000!  This is how much value each and every one of those jacket creators is creating.

Puts things in perspective!

Giveaway ....

OK - it's around 7-ish....and I've closed the giveaway, but if you want to sign up for the newsletter you can sure still do that....I will include it as a link on the left (later), but here's the link....just email me here (your email should open up), if it doesn't just email newsletter at clairekennedydesign dot com....with the at being a @ and the dot being a period and no spaces.

I'll get up a winner later tonite!!!  Thanks to everyone who entered AND thanks for all the great ideas!!!

C

Happy January 16th....or...

How about happy MLK day!!!  I knew there was a holiday coming up.

And since many offices are closed today, I'm extending the deadline till tomorrow, Tuesday at 7 pm OKC (Central Standard).  I forgot that Monday is a holiday.

Thank you for all your great responses, and all sorts of ideas for the newsletter. Can't wait to start on all the suggested topics.

So for those of you wondering why you don't get any mail (like me later today)....it is a federal holiday today - so Happy Martin Luther King day!

It's January 16th - Let's Celebrate and a surprise

Pretty flimsy excuse isn't it!!!  But I just can't think of any reason to celebrate, except that it's January 16th!!

I'm sure you all remember me winning a wonderful prize during Sandra Betzina's 12 Day of Christmas Giveaway:

 

It's a great prize, and I have really enjoyed it.  I've spent some time going through it and it is a great fabric dictionary. 

But there was a little snafu during the holiday mail traffic, and it didn't arrive for a while.  So I emailed Sandra, and she very sweetly said that they had gone out late, but that I should be receiving it any day....of course what should  appear the next day but the book.

But wait.....

 

About 3 days later, I receive a second copy.  They very thoughtfully sent out a second copy in case I didn't get the first one!

So I again contacted Sandra and asked if it would be OK if I could have a giveaway on my blog.  She sweetly agreed.

But wait....

 

Sandra not only sent the book, but this very cool overview about pants fitting.  And I've read it and love it and she's right - US patterns don't really allow or are shaped for the normal American woman.  Sandra talks about how to do that.  So I decided to include this in on the giveaway as well.

But wait!!!!!

In the second package...Sandra very sweetly includes this very nifty turning tool - it is one of my favs and I already have one so might as well make that part of the giveaway as well.

So what better to do that to celebrate that all famous holiday:  January 16th!!! with a giveaway contest.

For a long while now I've been wanting to do a newsletter - it will be free.  But what it will do is discipline me to write down some of my more favorite and useful techniques.  I operate best under a deadline, and this would be the perfect vehicle for me.

So here's the deal...actually everyone wins....sign up for my newsletter - it's free, and if you don't want it or want to unsubscribe, you can do that anytime (There will be a link at the bottom plain as day), and from those who sign up, I'll do a random pick from the random generator...the winner from the random generator will get the book, Pants Primer, and the turn tool, and the rest (and the winner too) will get a newsletter!

All you have to do is email me here - this is a little different than my contact info.

Oh yeah - deadline....I'll close this on Monday night at midnight (Central Standard Time in Oklahoma City)!  Lots of people access blogs on their work computers, so that gives them a chance to do that

And of course I would love to have feedback from you all about what you want to know;  what's interesting and what's important to you in sewing.  For the first couple of newsletters, they are going to be about fitting, proportion, and how to shape and style things for more common figure types.

Hey this will be fun!

 

Nancy K and the Vogue 1167 Jacket

I was over at Nancy K's blog and noticing that she was having a dilemma about picking out a new pattern.

I notice this a lot with my students, and this is another one of those things that I do so regularly, that I don't realize I know what I know - if you know what I mean!  OK, that sounds confusing to me - can only guess how it sounds to you.

So with Nancy's permission, here is a perfectly good example (with thanks from Nancy) is how I would approach her if she were a client of mine.

First, (I would be very lucky to have her as a client cause she obviously puts a lot of care and thought into her appearance), is her shape.

I think of Nancy as being more straight up and down rather than any other shape, and she is not short, however has to be careful about being "cut in half".  Neither one of these are serious flaws, but do have to be considered in pattern selection, pattern alteration and pattern design.

She's been looking at Vogue 1167, which I think is a good pattern for her, but will require a little work before it really becomes a WOW jacket - and this is what we're after here - a WOW look!  And let's be honest - every pattern needs some work to become a WOW garment.

So I think this is a good pattern and a classic one.  But first some critique on the photo above.  Nancy got this right off....it's been clothespinned in the back - meaning that they've nipped it in, in back, during the photo shoot to make the jacket look a little better....but we can do that too, only  in a different more permanent way.

The next thing is that the jacket sleeves have some fullness to them that might be a problem for another figure, but not for Nancy, so let's not take on more here than we need to....just wanted to mention that about the sleeves.

That said, this jacket has some good points....the side bust darts are excellent, the 3/4 sleeve length is great for looking taller/less bulky, but this jacket needs more than that to make it work. 

The waist must be delineated in this pattern - there is not waist and the side bust darts are good but they aren't good enough: (the back view)

 

I mean cummon now....you can't tell me the picture of the finished garment (the one above this one) hasn't been clothepinned at the waist when you look at this line drawing!!!

 

Looking at either solution here (center back seam or side back darts) either one of these solutions will solve the waist look (and OK I manipulated the side seam of the original drawing to make my point here, but this WILL work!).  However, from an aesthetic point of view, and taking into consideration the line of the pattern, I personally like the center back seam the best on this style.....there's a boxy, sort of 70's-ish look to this, and this would have been a typical seam in those days - and I know this only cause I was sewing back then (you understand I was 3 y/o then.....OK maybe a little older!)

Here's using the Armani line technique on this waist to also help in this.

 

Armani would nip in a little above the waist, (in the illustration the red line is actual waist, and blue line is where the pattern has been nipped in the most) for the smallest part of the jacket waist (I did a little blurb on this here), but the whole idea is that if there is a more graduated line from the bust to the waist and from the waist to the hip, rather than the beloved "muffin top" look, then this is not only more presentable, but actually flattering!!!  What a concept!!!

The next thing is that Nancy has to be careful about being cut in half. So she has to be careful where the jacket hem hits her.  She also has to be careful that the jacket doesn't do a "Flying Wallenda" and accentuate an area that doesn't really need accentuating.  So where's that perfect line?!

Easy - it's where her tummy or hip (which ever is the most delicate for her) sticks out the most.

This is a mathematical formula that works every time:

If she wants to de-accentuate her tummy & bust, then she makes the line from where it sticks out the most to where it goes in the most, as smooth as possible.  In the case of her tummy, she has all the way from the most protruding spot, to the hem to make that line smooth.  In the case of her bust, she has from the bust point to the waist to make that as smooth.

The opposite works well too.....for my gals who have little or no busts, I fit right under that bust line and make it close to the body and poof - like magic, they have a va-va-voom sexy bustline - or at least it makes them look like they do!

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So here's the bottom line on this jacket....she has to be careful of the hem, she has to do a center back seam and take in the waist a little above the waist, and take in the waist on the side seam a little above the waist, and voila - she has a perfectly great jacket that will work well in a lot of situations.  And something that is classic enough to be done again and again and still look the same!

Gee, after looking at this pattern, I like it too.  I probably wouldn't have noticed it since it doesn't have the trademark high neck collar that I love so much (to cover my thin bird neck), but the more I look at the the more I like it for summer and spring!  Oh dang, the pattern isn't even available yet.  Why does Vogue do that?!!

I'm totally out of it sometimes

Imagine my sheer joy to be stumbling around on the net looking and all sorts of great sewing stuff and there's a contest over on Sew Stylish (which is rapidly becoming one of my fav hang outs!), and lo and behold....

I know one of the contestants!!!!

La Sewista!!! Bunny - you didn't tell me - or did I miss it - probably more like the later!

So now what we all need to do is go over there and vote for Bunny!!!!

Click here and then scroll down to "Vote Now" and choose Bunny and vote away!!!!

Year end; year begin

I run another blog off of this one.  It's not as active, but a blog that's near and dear to me.  It's about faith and not only having faith, but about having faith in yourself.

I've been thinking a lot about this, especially after my pants class last November where I learned almost as much as my students. 

I'm used to dealing with my clients, and I know it takes a lot of "faith" to knock on my door and put the delivery of my clients' dreams in my hands without seeing the end product.  But my reputation is that, as a client, you may not necessarily totally know what you're going to get, but you know that consistently my clients are very pleased.  My clients satisfaction is paramount:  that's my rep.

I want the same thing for my students. 

I want them to walk away from a class not only learning how to do what they paid to learn, but some wonderful ancillary techniques and information that can enhance their whole outlook about sewing and creating their dream wardrobe.

As a matter of fact, this is becoming an obsession.  Here locally, I'm pretty clear how to tackle this.  My enthusiasm is very infective one-on-one or in a personal class.  But I'm left with how to infuse that enthusiasm and jump-started-ness to students outside my immediate area.

It's frustrating for me to try and answer this when I receive emails or phone calls from prospective students who can not make it to the class or are too far away to travel to the class even for private lessons.

The idea of empowering my students not only with enthusiasm, but to get them to at least try to challenge themselves and watch them work through the usually stumbling points, and progress past that, is so much fun for me - that it's very addictive to me. 

I see so many times my students have this preconceived idea that this is impossible or that won't work on their body or their shape won't allow them to look nice this or that way, when all they need is a little extra help with fitting or technique-instruction, and poof - like some magic fairy godmother;  here they are not only solving their usual stumbling blocks, but whizzing on down the road like a formula one out of the pit stop!

This is probably because I'm reliving the same exciting experience I had when I realized I could do anything!  It's addictive and full of energy.

This has consumed me for the last month because I would not only like to pass this on to the students in my immediate area, but to others outside my area.  Not only do I know that I can fit almost any shape, I've done it with my clients.

I have this vision of sitting in front of a mega-computer with a camera and students from all over the world on my computer and we're moving around and I'm telling them to turn a little and pinch in here and check that, and how it feels, and how it looks and on and on....with the problem solved and students eyes wide with realization that they really CAN do it! 

Wa-ha-ha-ha....isn't that the evil witch's laugh!!!!

For the new year, this is my big New Year's Resolution:  to figure out how to do this (without the special effects needed to make Avatar!) for my students locally as well as regionally and wherever the internet will reach. 

Heck - if Martians want to learn, I'm sure I could do that too!

Jacket Class for February, 2010

I'll be doing a class at Bernina this spring - as per request from my students....a jacket class to go with their pants!

You can email Bernina of OKC here for details and to make reservations.  Here are the details on the class, and class supplies.   

And if you can not make those classes or one or two but not all, I also do private classes on your schedule.

Here's a jacket I did, which is a "try out" for the Chanel jacket I've been trying to finish which now appears (since I have a deadline), to get done for this class.

I love everything about this jacket, except that the sleeve head did not "puff" like I like a very tailored jacket to do.

This is easy to fix....just added a bias cut piece of horsehair canvas.  It's not made of horsehair - maybe it was at one time, but not now, but it has marvelous shaping qualities.

It's pinned in as if the outside curve is flat with the sleeve head, which  means it will ease into the armhole.

 

Sewn in on the seam or just a scant outside (in the seam) from the seam line so as not to show on the outside armhole seam.  Hopefully that makes sense.,

Here's the difference - look at how that pops up.  OK it's isn't all that noticeable, but it is to me!

I'm picky.  What can I say - I could promise to make it a #1 project for New Year's resolutions - OK I can't do that either!  I'm hopeless!!!!  I[m permanently picky!

 

Oh and one more thing....I really don't like large wobbly buttonholes.

So I did a seam on center front and just separated it where the buttonholes were - same on the cuff and it turned out really well.  Very effective!

Ciphers and Monograms

I can't believe I haven't done this before - I could have sworn I did, so if I did, bear with me.

One of the fun things that is fun to do to personalize my designs is to insert a personalized monogram or cipher.  In my former life, I did a lot of calligraphy, and embroidery seems to be a wonderful off shoot of that love.

It can be anything....a monogram with a date:  RLS, July 12, 2008

This is what I call one of my ciphers...where the whole name is in a certain area...this was for my cousin Victoria...Tori! It's hard to see here since this was white on white.

Another cipher of two initials intertwined:  KS (not the state!)

This was a prototype for a man - not for a wedding - so more masculine...it was white on muslin, just to see what it would look like.HMS

This was a beautiful silk, double-faced satin ribbon for a bride, with her initials and her new last name (4 letters) with a date:  LC with the two larger initials S (maiden name) and F (married name)

This was a ring pillow for one of my brides with the groom's and bride's last initials on the pillow: C & W

Another monogram inside the bridal gown with the date:  AA were the bride's given name, P (maiden name) and B (married name)

Here is my cipher. (Claire)

This was for my cousin's child's CG (Christening Gown), however I don't think we ended up using this design, but I liked it very much:  PJK

This was for my sister:  Laura - a cipher all in one area, but still legible.

Another cipher - Mary.

And yes, I'm Irish...I've always loved the Chi Rho page from the Book of Kells.....

So hopefully that gives you a little feel for monographs and ciphers

Rolled Hemmer Foot

This foot for Bernina works on the same principle as the flat felled foot.  I received so many requests about curved and special parts of hems, that I did a short little video to show how to do this.

Basically, this isn't all that difficult, but you just take it slowly through the difficult parts, and even though you are sewing slower than you might normally in sewing a seam, it is still much faster, much more efficient, and you have a much better result than if you were to do this by hand.  Believe me, I've done it by hand. (and by hand, I mean having to turn up the dang hem and pin it every 2" or 3" to get it to stay up while you sew the seam down.)  The foot makes it so much more uniform and professional looking.

The other method to be aware of is that you will curve this just slightly as you follow the curve of a hem - the same way you would as if you were putting in a blind hem, or any other type of hem in a curved hem.  I prefer to keep the left edge of the foot about ¹/₂" to ⁵/₈" from the edge of the fabric.  This allows enough fabric for a nice roll - too much (or too deep a hem) will cause the fabric roll to buckle and have tucks in it (not good!).  Too little hem allowance and there won't be enough to tuck under the fold and the raw edge will fold out.

Think about this for a minute....this isn't that difficult.  If you were just folding up hem and sewing one fold, you would curve around the seam to follow the curve of the hem.

 

You do exactly the same thing with the rolled hemmer...follow that same curve of the hem (or the edge of the fabric.)  If your hem is thick in some places and shallow in others, then you will need to cut the hem so it is the same thickness all the way around.  It's impossible to stick more fabric into the hem (on a thicker hem) without the hemmer causing the hem to buckle which will make the hem look sloppy.

Take out a piece of muslin and practice this.  This is often what design schools will direct you to do to learn a new or what may seem awkward technique.  After you learn it and can get a couple of good hems behind you, believe me you will get the hang of this.

Enjoy!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

It is said imitation is the best form of flattery!!!

When I saw Lindsay T's labels, I was green, so I ordered my green set, and they just arrived today.....

 

Holy Hollyhocks, Bullwinkle!!! I'm hear to tell you I'm totally impressed.  I need to make up 15 gowns to put my labels in.

Thank heavens we had a blizzard for Christmas and I haven't delivered my family's Christmas gifts yet.  I'm opening 'em up and puttin' in labels right now!

These were ordered from WorldWide on their Etsy Shop and I highly recommend them.  I sent them my own heavy graphic and they did a superb job, matching the Pantone Colors perfectly.  Pantone 4545 for background and 554 for the green.  If you don't have a Pantone Color Chart - it's worth the money - it's the gold standard for color.  I have yet to meet a vendor who can't or doesn't have access to one and it makes color matching so easy.  Even though I deal in lots of white, what it does sometimes is just help define to my clients what they want - cause sometimes they don't even know till they see the various shades next to each other.

I'm a color fanatic and very picky about my colors and these came out so gorgeously.

Here's the label with the Pantone colors (as defined by my Corel PhotoPaint software), and you can see how close this is - almost spot on.

I'm pleased and highly recommend this company - they turned out 3" long by 1½" high and I got 200 labels for about $65-ish.  It was late in shipping probably cause of Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years, but I'll do this again.

And hey - thanks Lindsay!

Flat Felled Seams

Gadget is not my favorite word.  It sounds like it's a cheapy thing-a-ma-jig.  And most tools are anything but that.  

Good tools make your life easier and are usually well thought-out and worth their weight in gold!

After having so much fun with Vogue 1145, and working all those felled seams by hand, I realized that Bernina had a flat felled foot that I could easily use.

But no  worries...it's another excuse to make up something to practice!!  We all need to practice, to be better and to have more fun trying out all sorts of new tools that we've purchased to make our lives easier!!

At least that's my story and I'm stickin' with it!

Here's the tool and how wonderfully it works - first time (with only a few directions)!

 

First thing is to cut away about 1/4" and pin the seam together....in this case this shows the front on the bottom and back on top (with the back seam 1/4" thiner).  The front will eventually fold back over the back.

 

Next fold over that edge that is the overhang and sew a couple of stitches to get the seam started.

 

Insert the needle, and lift the foot and pull that folded edge up and over the "tongue" of the foot.

 

And apply the gas, and go!  And the pins are far enough away from the seam that there's not a chance of the needle ticking or hitting them!!!  No burrs on the needle, thankyouverymuchladiesandgentlemen!

And look at this.  It was just too easy.

Does this mean the end of serging?

Are more projects in the till to practice?

Will Claire have a life after this foot?

Will Claire emerge from the sewing studio ever again?

Stay-tuned for the exciting conclusion and answer to this major cliff-hangers!!!

OK - I'm giddy - OU WON!!!  We've broken our curse!!!

It snowed!

I know - for a lot of people this isn't a big deal....for us in the Southern Plains, it's a huge deal....and it's still here

It was especially fun this year since I had family and hotel Claire was up and serving.  It's amazing what you can whip up even when you aren't expecting a single person...defrosting was a little difficult the first night, but with the freezer examined and emptied and the pantry inventoried, I put together quite a few meals that amazed even me.

Two days after the storm and it's still snowy and especially icy out, but the main roads are enough passable that family can begin to travel home.

In the meantime, I've been able to finish a few things and play in my studio.  As everyone has gone their separate ways, I have the "laboratory" all to myself!

OOOOOOoooooooOOOOOO!!!

Hope your holiday was wonderful and fun and with warm memories.

Meeting deadlines and a respite

My business is set on deadlines.  They're harrowing and sometimes hard to meet, but I gotta meet them or I don't get paid.  That's an amazing motivator!!!

But after I have met them, I have a respite - for a short time, and piddle around my studio just creating and thinking of things to create.

Some of you may know that I'm also an underwater photographer, and get to travel to wonderful far away places.  One of the things you know when you dive is that you don't do it 24/7.  You have to have rests in between.  The reason is a bunch of physics gobbledygook, which I will not bore you with her (thank heavens!), but it does leave time for other activities, some of which are beach combing, and one of my favorite things is to pick up sea glass.

Sea glass is glass that has been tossed around in the ocean, reef, and/or shore long enough that it has been softened and frosted look to it.  I had picked up some pieces and wanted to make a necklace from them a couple of years ago.

So got some diamond drill bits and some coolant lube to drill in (when drilling hard stuff like glass, you need to do it in a liquid so that your drill bit doesn't get too hot or the glass too hot.

And voila....

This is really effective on my turtlenecks, which are a staple in my winter wardrobe.

Then...I did a pair of earrings.  I really love 'em!

But here's the bonus!

 

This is a semi-precious or just a plain mineral that I found in Santa Fe which I was told was called rosasite or rosalite - it doesn't match, but I don't really care....the color and size was perfect for buttons.  All I needed was two holes for thread and some great buttons.

 

These were another set of semi-precious mineral called gaspeite but it's perfect for this silk!

From the INWA Department

What is the INWA - the famous INWA?

The I Never Win Anything Department!!!!

And it's not that I'm complaining...there's a lot of junk out there I wouldn't want to win.  And part of this is that I'm so picky about what I have in my library.  But it is nice to win - and this is from Sandra Betzina's Twelve Days of Christmas so all those prizes are pertinent.

But this one has to be a little coincidentally symmetrical to this taking into consideration my posts last September!!!  But I'm of the ilk that there is always something we can learn, no matter how knowledgeable we are or think we are.

 I can't wait to get my little mitts on this book....it looks like a gem and something that I would like to have for my studio library!!!

Thanks Sandra!

Congratulations to my friend Cindi on her new purchase!!!

Most of the time, I'm either asked to leave or kicked out of the local women's emporiums around town, which has always confused me, but nevertheless, there it is.

 

This wasn't always so.  I knew a fine gentleman who owned a wonderful ladies store in town who welcomed me almost every time I entered the store, even though he knew who I was and what I did and what I could do.  But he realized that I needed shoes, accessories, and even times I could send my clients to him and vice versa!  But alas, he retired, and there was no place I could really feel welcomed.

Now when I travel to the large metro areas like Dallas & New York, this is never a problem, although I do know several of the staff at the finer Dallas stores, and they know who I am and what I can do, they are completely welcoming.

The reason may seem strange, but what I've found is that the truly creative and confident store owners realize I am not a threat.  Let's be honest, there is no way I could design and execute enough of the evening gowns that even my medium-sized metro area needs.  There is a need for a store and a need for me.  They realize that both can exist in the same market and there are enough customers for both of us.

Well, a new day has dawned in town...a new owner for a local ladies' boutique and someone not only I have know personally, but professionally.

 

Congratulations Cindi, and from my heart - I am so thrilled!!!!!

Always messing with things

OK - hope I haven't messed things up terribly, but am trying to get this blog to show more of the graphics on the feed, and have changed the feed....if you don't hear from me, or if there are problems, just let me know (just click the "About" to the left and my email link is listed there).  Sometimes all this stuff can get a little mind-exploding!

Just to show you...

...that even professionals make mistakes.

There's an old adage:  A person who never makes a mistake is probably not doing anything, which means if you sit around pointing out mistakes, it probably means you're getting a lot of stuff done.

At least that's my story and I'm sticking with it!!!!

A couple of months ago (OK it was more than that), I did this jacket.  It turned out OK....but I wasn't all that crazy about it. 

So I finally got Esmeralda out and put the jacket on to do some major re-fitting.

This is a great lesson on how to really use a mannequin to the best advantage. 

There's no way I could possibly fit myself on this, even the master fitter that I am, I just can not reach behind me and fit the back as well as I would like.  My arms aren't that limber, which is just as well, cause I would have to be horrible double and maybe even triple jointed to do this!

That's the beauty of a mannequin.  But there's a caveat with this - there's always something.  You have to be very careful when fitting to a mannequin as you can easily have a tendency to fit right to the very exact shape of the body of the mannequin. 

That might fit you, if you don't breathe, move or particularly if you just stand an exact right way.  But we move, and I don't know about you, but my waist moves when I eat, and my body has a tendency to "spread" when I sit, and I like breathing which requires a little room - just funny little things like that, which make fitting right to the very exact shape of the mannequin a real problem.

Of course you could shape the mannequin with the ease already figured into the body, but I don't like this either.  It doesn't really solve the problem, as you need to get used to fitting using ease, not fitting without ease.

The best way to guard against too close a fit, is after you have fit yourself on a body double, try on the garment to make sure it works....

In the case of my "redeux" it did....

 

Even though the sleeves look a little long here, I like this...this cord is heavy and I like having a long-sleeved jacket to cover my always cold hands.

And most of all my match in front is preserved and show (for those who care!!!)

Another view of 8454

There were so many questions about how I did the alterations on Vogue 8454, here is how I did it, only I drew this on the pattern so you can see how and where I did the alteration.

One more time

I know....if I make this up one more time, you all are going to take up a collection for me, but when a pattern is good - it's good!!!  And I love this one

Burda  World of Fashion January, 2008 #107

 

This is a great pattern and there are lots of things I can do to tweak it - although it doesn't need much.  One way I love it to take in that side seam a little.  This is like pivoting a dart, and the dart I'm pivoting here is the side bust dart.  I've made this blouse up 4 times, and this time I decided to take it in here cause I knew it would work.

 

This just has a great line - can't go wrong.  Oh yeah, and another showcase for some stencil art on this.  This is a Diane Ericson stencil that came out great on here.

 

I got a little carried away with the contrasting color here....and had a spool of polyester sheen that just toned beautifully with the color of the stencils, and in this case wanted a real "pop-up" buttonhole, so I used some pearl twist as a base for a stand-up button hole.  I've just gone blank, and this is called something and for the life of me I can't think of it....I'm sure you all know.  Anyway, it turns out really well here.

 

Then out of my wonderful button collection some very nice carved pearl in a nice teal color.  It's not the exact color of the silk dupioni, but close enough. 

This will make a great holiday blouse - a little off plumb, but then people sorta expect that from me - after all I have a rep to maintain!!!

Our stencil class continues this Monday and Tuesday, with a couple of new projects in my head!

Pattern Review - Vogue 8454

This is Marcy Tilton's top, which is not new, but something I did to show off my stenciling from my class (yesterday's post here).

This is the fitting and making of this top.  I made the small size here, and had gobs of room in the bust and underarm area to take up.

I appreciate why Marcy designed it this way, but if you are slight of figure on top, then you will need to make the alterations to make this top work, and this top has gobs of style so it's worth the effort.  Also in the instructions, she recommends "pleating" it, and I didn't do that, so that's another reason for the fitting.

And this is a great showcase for my stenciling for this top/jacket.

So here's a little video on fitting and how I do it, plus how it looks after I've fit it.

The main reason I took all this time, was this is a fabulous cut and shape, and she has some well thought-out details like the button hole.

 

The buttonhole is in the seam, nice and stabilized, but great for large button which this top needs, and without having to do a bound buttonhole, which is what I usually use for a large button.

And there's a lot of style and graceful lines to this pattern, which makes it work, as you can tell by the video, in the end, the difference is astounding. 

Hope you use this technique of fitting like fitting your sheet on your bed when you make it up!

A stenciling we will go....

Ok - it's not very catchy - but doesn't matter - we had a blast in class today

What creative class members...willing to try all sorts of techniques and mediums to see what works best for their own projects.

Betsy brought some fat quarters, and started doing some fabulous stenciling.  I like this creative stencil on a print that can be very exciting.

And the best part is we get to giggle and laugh about artsy things.

Ah another successful creation!

Once a sarong, now something else...

This fabric was once a hand-woven sarong in Indonesia....

 

but back in the states...it's now a blouse. And yes this is the BWOF 1/2008 #107 .

You can see there's something a little extra on this other than this marvelous green stripe - and for those of you who don't like green, don't get sick - there's something else here too.

 

I used a decorative technique called stenciling on this as test to hone my skills for a class I'm doing in December (if you're in the area, we have a few spots left, and you 're more than welcomed to sign up....here are more details).  

I used all sorts of interesting things to get the look I wanted.

 

The first thing I discovered is that you can get your paint too thin and but hardly ever too thick - with thick paint you just get another look.

I also experimented with masking - to make it look like the stripe was going over the background design...this was fun and it gave the look I wanted, but I didn't like it for the shirt I was doing.

So I just went ahead and keep the design one or maybe two stencils, and used some shadowing, overlay and slight "dusting" of color and some a little heavier.

The overall look - came out very well, and I was really pleased.  I used a gold color here, with more of a patina-ed look.  This worked well with this bright yellow and green and maybe with some red bow, I could look like a tree ornament!!!!

 

There's one caveat for working with hand woven or home woven fabrics.  They are notoriously delicate, which makes them that much more charming, but sometimes you must be very careful.  I serged the seam on this, but used my standard pressure when pulling it out from the machine, and poof, all the serging came out along with the seam. 

 

So do use beautiful hand woven fabrics, but do remember they are much more delicate than the fabric we are so used to buying in stores.  Don't mess with the garment too much and certainly don't use a pattern or something you will have to do a lot of fittings on.  Get those seams finished as quickly as possible and you'll be OK.

 

Thanksgiving and a little fun....

Are you a member of the sock redistribution program?...well....

 

I'll have you know that not only is this household a card-carrying member in good standing, but our dues and duties are up to date! 

There's no resting on our laurels around this establishment!  And once a sock has been properly redistributed, it doesn't need to be re-redistributed!  We're done with it! 

It's just a good thing this sock redistributor doesn't know how to open sock drawers, or he'd be a lifetime member in a week!

This is a busy time of year as my deb girls all come into town and sort of a time to think through the clients of the year, and once again be thankful for my even-tempered clients which seems to be an ongoing trend - never sure exactly why, but fun for me nonetheless!

I'm also reflecting on the great posters and followers here, and how much each and every one of you have added to my appreciation and confirmation of how creative, productive and yes, even experimental all of you home-sewists are!

But, the really fun part, is that for the first time in a long time, I feel really full of the holiday spirit and feel like celebrating, mostly cause I've gotten a few ugly, scary things behind me, and I can work on sewing, creating and thinking of all sorts of new ideas in my studio. 

This hangs right over the door to my studio!

I've long felt that when I enter my studio some fairy "poofs" me with her wand, and I magically turn into this extra creative and imaginative person, and then upon leaving return back to my normally scheduled life. 

But this year, that fairy seems to have spilled out of the studio, and we're having a blast together out in public!!!  Who knows where this will lead, but we plan on having a lot of fun!

Hope you all enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving and eat too much!!!

In homage to Coco

Often it seems there's more than enough about Geoffrey Beene on this blog, but Beene along with Trigère

(who is Trigère you ask?....Pauline Trigère?...what better than a picture....)

Anyway - on with what I was saying... about Beene, Trigère and Coco all had something that I deeply admire - they all followed their own path, and even though fashion took a turn here or there, they still designed within their own style and didn't veer from it. 

What makes all these designers even more admirable is that in the long term, they are responsible for setting up design techniques and style that ads so much to all of our lives.

So here's a review of ....

 

A couple of caveats...I like Chanel style and I like the woman, so that in mind, I thought this was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.  We've all seen Chanel and we know about her, so the story of her life wasn't a stranger to me and it is inspiring on it's own, so I didn't expect to learn anything new.

She was an orphan in the Belle Époque period of France when women and freedom were about as compatible as Einor Dashwood and womens' rights - it just wasn't done - although George Sand had been seen sporting men's clothing in public before Chanel.  Nevertheless, Chanel was born into poverty and had a pretty bleak outlook ahead of her - probably in the local market hawking her wares (whether these be actual products or her body), and started as a "singer" which led to her first liaison with a man of means who also introduced her to a world of fashion.  Chanel started as a milliner (hat maker) and then graduated to clothing and fashion.  Her forte was relieving and rescuing and removing women from the corset and into more freely worn clothes, but also clothes that were just as sexy if not more so than the "thong" of today.  This style made her till World War II when she finally closed her salon.  It is also rumored that she had an affair with a German officer during the war, but (also rumored) the current Duke of Westminster and even Winston Churchill came to her aid, so she was never punished out right for her treasonable actions during WWII. 

After the introduction and enthusiasm for Christian Dior's, "The New Look" with it's overly cinched-in waist, and tiny, tiny torso, Chanel was one again horrified at what women were having to under go to "look pretty" so she opened her salon on Rue St. Honoré in the mid 50's.  Europe, Paris, England all panned her.  The feelings of WWII hadn't gone away.  The American press couldn't get enough of her, and it was the American woman who brought Chanel back with her gloriously wonderful Chanel Jacket. (Thank you Erica B).  Here she worked until she died at 88 y/o where she worked till the day she died.....or rather she practiced her passion till the day she died.

But there's more to this movie than just the history and that's where the art comes in, and I was moved, and connected with the character which made her story all that more compelling and touching.  I didn't expect to be that touched, and at the end in her staircase of mirrors, here I was tearing up - old crusty me actually crying.

Coming home I went through my beloved Chanel book that a client had given me decades ago.

So here were a few pictures that cover the time frame of the movie.

Coco, with Etienne and Boy

With Boy

 

The "jersey" or knit look that Coco became famous for introducing to outer wear clothing.

 

And here's the famous stairway where she would sit (the figure on the left is actually a reflection of Mme. Chanel on the right (see the hat!)  If you've never been to the boutique on Rue St. Honoré, it is still there today.  At the time I visited Paris, I was more interested in Twiggy & Mary Quant.  Dang - youth!  I know better today.  I'm more interested in doing a Chanel jacket, than a Mary Quant dress today! (Although they are both classics!)

We are so fortunate as to have a wonderful art museum in town where they show all these wonderful movies - and an excellent restaurant next door....now the next one for fashionistas is The September Issue about the September Issue of Vogue Magazine. 

Thursday, December 10, 7:30pm Friday & Saturday, December 11 - 12, 5:30pm & 8pm Sunday, December 13, 2pm The September Issue Anna Wintour, the legendary Editor-In-Chief of Vogue magazine for twenty years, is the most powerful and polarizing figure in fashion. The September 2007 issue was and remains the biggest ever, weighing over four pounds, reaching an audience of thirteen million people and impacting the global fashion industry more than any single publication. An intimate, funny and surprising look at Anna Wintour, and her team of larger-than-life editors as they create this must-have bible of fashion, the film explores the untouchable glamour of Wintour’s vogue to reveal the extraordinarily passionate people at its core. Director: R.J. Cutler 2009 USA 90min. PG-13 35mm

It's an eye-opener for some, rehash for others, but it sorta brings up a sore subject with me, so not sure I want to go push any red buttons of mine.  The worst part is the designers inviting Anna & André into see their collections before they are presented so as to get "approval"...ugh - puhlease!  Although I don't know why Karl Lagerfeld does this - he doesn't have to - he's one that has so much talent.

This goes back to the beginning with Coco going against convention and being a huge movement in fashion, or Trigère telling Fairchild off and never being publicized again in his periodicals even though her collections were some of the most beautiful classic designs of the day, or Beene who followed his own artistic direction developing such exquisite artistic patterns.  Thank heavens for designers who don't follow the masses and go out and do their own thing.

And thank heavens for home sewists who don't have to kowtow to the latest whims of fashion magazine editors!!!

As requested

First of all, thank you all for all your nice remarks about my "Icy Pink" ensemble for my client.  She was totally comfy in the dress and it was "past her expectations" - according to her.  That's my goal.

And also thanks for the comments on the Lynn Mizono coat.  I LOVE IT!!!!  Well, I love the comments of course, but I really love the coat.

And toward that end, though you might like to see how it moves!  The volume on this is a little low, so you may have to crank up the

On the button/buttonholes.  For something like this (when I'm using large buttons), I love using a bound buttonhole, but you do have the problem of the wrong side.

There are some creative ways to solve this...but my favorite is to make a facing and (I know it's not good time-management), slip stitch it by hand. 

 

Here is the buttonhole on the wrong side of the coat.  Here because it shows here most often.

 

Here's the facing on the wrong side.

 

And here it is buttoned.  Another reason I elected to put the finished side of the buttonhole on the wrong side.  When the coat is buttoned, the button covers a lot of the coat.

And here's the definitive reason:

 

The buttonhole just doesn't show that much at all, and often the "collar" shawl piece covers the button completely, so this was a no-brainer decision.

One more variation on this coat.....After wearing it to Coco Avant Chanel last night, I do and will wear this with a jacket and the sleeves are a little tight - and I like this style of sleeve and wouldn't recommend changing it, but I am going to line the sleeve - it will solve the problem instantly.

 

The coat inside out...so that the sleeves are the only thing lined using Bemberg Ambiance rayon lining.

 

This shows how I just slip-stitched this in by hand - this took about 1 hour to do so for me well worth the time and effort to make this  coat slip on and off.  

OK - one last comment, and then I'm done...I would use a darker piping color than what I used here.  The piping is OK, but just the slightest turn in the bias, and it shows as an error.

Darker colors don't show this anomaly of bias-cut piping as much lighter colors do.

I love this design Vogue 1145

This is a great pattern.  I love everything about this Vogue 1145.  This is an easy coat to cut out and put together with a few caveats.

 

This is the way the pattern shows to close the coat and it's a great way to close it.

But this is the way I love to close it

 

I can't say that this is a better look - it just feels better when I'm wearing the coat.

For this coat, I used a marvelous thick wool/angora blend.  It was pretty much the same on both sides, but one side was just a little softer than the other. 

And here's the part you have to be careful with.  It does call for a fabric that is the same on both sides, but if yours is a little off, I would recommend putting the facing/collar piece on in reverse, so that when it's folded over, the more right side shows.

 

The coat collar/facing naturally folds back on the coat, but if this is put on with right sides together, then you will have a problem when this folds back and the wrong side will show all the time.  And yes, I did put right sides together and finished it off, and then took it apart and put it with the wrong side of the collar/facing onto the right side of the coat and I'm much happier with it.

In the top picture you can see just the small variation between the wrong and right side, but for me this isn't enough to cause problems, but it did cause me enough discomfort to redo the top.

I finished the jacket with a nice silk binding.

 

And love doing bound buttonholes when using big buttons like this.  This is one of my flea-market buttons.  It may have been just a tad smooth for this casual look, but it seemed to work.

This is easy to put together and although Vogue instructions can cause Excedrin Headache #143, it's still easy enough to work through.  I have a love/hate relationship with Vogue instructions, as I believe a pattern should contain all the information you need and instructions can often confuse and so muddle the process of assembling that it can be daunting for an MIT scientist!

If you're willing to be a little daring and try something a little arty, this is a great coat, but it does require some killer great wool - must be heavy weight and look pretty much the same on both sides.  It's also perfect for a double faced thick fabric

Can I brag

One thing that's fortunate or just plain lucky about my business is the wonderful clients that dawn my door.  There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for not only the wonderful projects they bring to me, but how pleasant they all are to deal with.  My latest client demonstrated that in spades.

Not only did she want a fabulously tasteful ensemble, but she was the most pleasant person to work with.

She's a true pillar of our community without all the falderol, fanfare and fakery.  She is truly an honest person wanting to perform her duties in the most excellent way with the greatest reward for those she is serving.

She survived the Oklahoma City bombing - just barely, with a chard of glass hitting her neck, that, had it gone just a smidgen either way, would have killed her.  As if she weren't grounded to begin with, this whole experience just made her more so.

So when she came to me wanting something special for her induction into our state's hall of fame, I was elated.

 

These photos are from the rebroadcast of the even, so they are a little grainy, but you can see the gist of the look we wanted...something feminine, but no frou-frou.  This is a no-nonsense gal, and she doesn't need or want a lot of bows and frills.

 

And that medallion on that ribbon didn't just land there out of the clear blue...

...we worked that puppy so that with the minimum of work it would just land there automatically - it looks pretty good!

As another detail, the inside of the cuff is also the contrasting satin.  It just was a little something extra that probably only she would know or see, but the kind of thing I love to do.

This beautiful "icy pink" is a gorgeous color on her, and yet to keep it from being boring, I used an insert panel for the collar.  This piece fits like a typical shawl collar with a seam at center back, but when it comes down in front it widens to make a dart for the front of the jacket.

 

This is a typical Geoffrey Beene technique for fitting and yet allowing the fitting seam/dart to look more like a design seam.  And no I promise not to wax on and on about Geoffrey Beene - this time!   In addition, the gown was in the taffeta side of the silk peau de soie, then used the satin side for the contrast, which made it sublime up close, but showy enough to carry throughout the room.

 

In these events, as important as the front, so is the back.  What you can't see here (and darn if I didn't get a picture of it while I had it in my studio), is that the fit in the back is sublimely right on, with the darts of the jacket matching exactly the darts of the gown. 

This lady has a killer great figure, so that was another feature we wanted to show off with the gown, but yet she wanted to at least "rustle" (you know this is a verb, no matter what Webster's says....I rustle, she rustles, we have been rustling, etc.!!!!!).  This is what I call the sashay factor of a dress.  Obviously a large skirt and oodles of sashay (oodles is also a technical term!), but that doesn't mean that a fitted gown can't have it too, and this is how I accomplished that with this gown.

It's just as important for the gown to move or sashay as it is when she's standing there speaking.

 

Most of all she wore the gown, not the other way around, and I've already started in with her about how many wonderful ways she can wear this now!

Testing with Essie

This is sort is a test to try out two things. One is to post mobile and the other os to see Essie's new duds all fitted and ready to go

Do you have a mannequin?

I couldn't live without my mannequin.  She's shaped for me, which makes it nice since I can't reach around and fit myself.

I named her Esmeralda - I thought it sounded pretty and it sort of rolls off your tongue!

 

But dear Esmeralda has seen better days.

 

She came to me as a trade.  I was looking for a mannequin, and I had a high-schooler who wanted me to do a prom dress for her, but was just too much for her budget.  We talked and she said that her mother had a mannequin, and I was interested in what make it was and where she got it.  Before you know it, it came out that her mother doesn't actually sew that much, and the mother offered me the mannequin for the prom dress.

It was one of the best trades I made.

The mannequin is a "Faithfully Yours".  I'm not sure they even make these any more.  But it works great for me.

Back to Esmeralda...so once every 25 years or so I just have a wild hair and decide Essie needs new duds after helping me fit heaven knows how many gazillions of dresses.

 

And basically this wasn't difficult...just take the old pattern apart, and mark the seams, do my own seam allowances, cut and sew together.  She needed a little fitting, and after I finish this, I'll try it on myself.  If I can just breathe, I know it's right.

Essie's new duds are a 100% cotton heather denim.  She wanted something tough this time around, and this was perfect

 

But for right now, I'm just enjoying how pretty she looks, and I suspect she's happy too!

I'll fit the rest of her today.

I don't know why

....nor do I have any idea where it came from.  But I do have a gift.  I love to fit.

From Jackets

to wedding gowns

Nothing is too weird

or too classic

whether it's short

or long.

 

No one in my family sewed much (if at all) - - mostly sewing on buttons and taping hems.  But more than that, I have a gift for fitting.  It's really what I do the best.

This is what made the pants pattern class so much fun.  Not only did my students walk away with a pants pattern, but they also walked away knowing themselves, their bodies and their lifestyles better.  Some didn't need to zip in front and didn't want to learn that, some didn't like waistbands, some didn't know they were sway back, some did, and didn't know how to fit it. 

It was so much fun watching the light bulb come on in each of my students.  I just wish I knew how to pass that on without being there in person.

What we did was measure ourselves, but out a pattern larger than what we thought we would need, and pinch in...mostly on that "innerspace" - between the center back, crotch and center front lines.  Then I would watch them walk, sit, stand, turn walk away from me, and if the pant hung straight from the largest part of their body, straight to the hem, then "We have a pattern!"  Each student loved hearing that.

I guess being so picky about my own clothes all these years has finally paid off.

I'm so lucky to have found what I love, and to do this every day - well, OK I can't do it every day, but I want to and I get to do it most days!

Another successful class

This is possibly one of my best classes to date.  Everyone was so wonderful and the whole group wanted to learn - and why not.  A pair of well fitting pants are like a dream.  And as if I didn't already know this, every body shape is completely different.  

For one of my students we put the old envelope pattern over the newly finished muslin and examined it.  She was pretty much in line with pattern except that the pattern (for her) tilted the wrong way.  Once we got the hang perpendicular to the floor, she looked great.

 

It also goes to show that any figure can be fitted.  I've always felt this strongly as I've fitted all my clients, and today's class proved it once again.

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After each fitting there was usually a little "un-sewing" and then sewing a new line and another fitting.

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Back to sewing again - this is the great classroom they have at my local Bernina.  I'm very fortunate cause not only do they have great service for any of the Berninas, but they also are a great group of very creative people who work and teach there.

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After a pattern is completely fitted and done, then it is completely taken apart and all seam lines are traced with a permanent marker.

 

The great news is that every member of the class walked away with a pattern that works for them.  Not only does it fit, but some class members found out interesting information about themselves - some do not like waistbands at all, some like only back zippers. 

This is a wonderful insight into each member's likes and dislikes.  Some took a little longer as we had to determine what they really liked.

This is one of the things we home sewists know and enjoy - we know what we like, because we are used to doing and creating it for ourselves every day.  But it is fun to watch newbies discover this.  I think my favorite moment was when we talked about variations...shorts, front/back zips, side slant pockets, welt pockets, pleats, flat-no pleats, capris, dress/silk pants, casual cotton twill pants - really the variations are endless - just from one pattern.

The dress, part 2

Thank heavens for bridesmaids that have their little cameras...the professional photos haven't come in yet...but these have....

These are from one of Kate's cute bridesmaids...Kate had a problem here cause all her bridesmaids looked so darling!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I think that about says it all!

The Dress

When you're niece who've you've known since she was a tiny baby, gets married, NOTHING is too much or too great for her. 

So went the saga of her dress.  We visited some shops to look at some of the couture dresses, but she knew pretty much what she wanted, and I couldn't have been more in favor of it.

She choose a light airy gown, that to me, would show all my masterful skills - every seam would show a mistake and her beautiful figure would be a gorgeous palette on which to showcase this dress.

So off we set on a beautiful adventure....from finding the fabric to walking down the isle!

As I left you last here and here, I could not tell or show more of the dress till after she walked down the isle which was marvelously accomplished in late October!

This is more of a log of how I created the dress....more pictures of the wedding later.

 
I'm not much on draping, but for this style, this was the only way to make her dress do exactly as I wanted.  This was constructed with one draping over one side of the bust, another draping over the other side, accomplished by cutting two pieces on the bias (above), and draping and gathering like below.

 

This is a little like watercolor painting.  Watching the artist do watercolor makes it look so easy, but it does take years of practice and experience to really make this work well.

 

After crossing both busts, I wanted to do a twisting waist effect in front.  After twisting the fabric, then I rouched it into place.  This is always an important step and one which RTW hardly ever takes:  tacking down the rouching, but this also makes the garment look exactly  as you want.  Otherwise, the gathering is haphazard...it's more here than there.  The best method here is not to tack down too much but enough to evenly disperse it in the area to be covered.

The back is fairly straight-forwarded.  It gently sloped back to the center back zipper.  Yeah, I know I'm a little larger than my niece and didn't want to tempt the zipper!!!

Next is the train.  We wanted something that would delicately A-line to the floor then fall flat like a white liquid with little or no rippling.  IOW, the train would lay flat on the ground.  This meant a group of inserted godets.  More fabulous pictures of the train soon to come from the ceremony.

The tale is how it looks and feels on the bride - she loved it, and it was beautiful on her.

The proud Dad and Bride.

And here is proud auntie zipping up cute niece!!!   If you're on facebook, friend me, there are a smattering of photos coming in...the professional shots are in yet!

I promise there are more to come!

The Bustle, part 2

This is the result of being too picky, but what I wanted was the French type bustle with the fold being as close the floor as possible.

To get this, I had to do a lot of bustling up in various locations that was more of a trial and error effort rather than a planned thought-out effort as I originally planned.

Isn't this always the way....best laid plans and all!

But the end result was pretty nice:

In praise of the home sewists

This probably won't be the last of this topic, but it's something I feel very passionate about and it gets very little, if any play - at least not as much as it's worth.

Catching up on my blog reading, it's just plain fun to see all the different details, techniques and methods that home sewists use today.  What's even more fun is to realize that these techniques and details are hardly ever found in RTW. 

So what's new about that?

Well, the very fact that home sewists are creating such beautifully detailed and styled garments that would cost far more, if they could be found in department stores of today. 

I was altering a client's dress and the seams were all detailed with pick-stitching.

The very detail of this was so unusual to me particularly on a print.  I'm used to seeing this all the time on solids and a nice detail on exclusive men's clothing, but not on RTW print dresses, until I got a  look at the price tag.

This is the bottom line (no pun meant) on these types of garments.  And here in lies the detail that we, as home sewists, often add to our garments that make them just a notch (or even more) above RTW. This raises the hair on any RTW fan, but the truth is that as a home sewist and sewing enthusiast, we often have the time to add these special details to our garments that really make them beautiful and look very pricey!

So what's all the purpose of this rattling?  It's just that I think too often we compare our efforts to RTW and more particularly RTW pricing, when this is like comparing apples and oranges, or more pertinently apples and diamonds.

More often than not our home sewist garments are much better made, better fitting and more detailed than RTW, so to compare these with RTW, and particularly the pricing, is not in the same ball park  just not pertinent.

It's probably more appropriate to compare these beautifully made garments with couture and couture pricing.  Go out and price some couture dresses  and ensembles.  After you pick yourself up off the floor, give yourself a pat on the back!

This isn't magic....

...or even rocket surgery...or is that brain science - oh no matter!!!...On my last post about coordinating...it's a lot simpler than you think.

How to coordinate a wardrobe or your closet isn't all that difficult.  The very first place to start and the most important place to start is with color.

Here's my first blog on this - just a little dabble into color.

Get your color coordinated to your skin color.  This means basically if you have ruddy (a little on the red side), you will tend toward the warm side of the color wheel....

 

if you have more of a porcelain or blue tint to your skin and hair, then you will tend toward the cool side of the color wheel.

Here's a picture of that color wheel just so you can see -

We ALL have colors that we look better in, and although this isn't a law (but it should be), not only does it make your wardrobe work for you and you look great in everything in your closet (wow, talk about a fantasy!), but it makes coordinating everything in your closet easy as pie!!!

OK - I'm going on here, but not to take up too much space, I'm going to have you click below to read all of this.....

Little Black Dress and variations

It's no surprise that I'm a fan of Inside Out Blog...being a scientist (having to transfer 2-dimensional shapes into 3-dimensional shapes), and being a creative person....keeping my clients "on the edge" without having them orbiting Mars.

One of her latest blogs is about working the Little Black Dress.

First - color coordinating your skin/hair to your wardrobe is a great way to start making your wardrobe work for you.

Next is thinking about the use of the garment in your lifestyle and closet - does it fit for what you are doing?....do you already have 5 garments like this in your closet?....those sorts of questions.   

For me, I have the occasion I need to upgrade my wardrobe a little and this is how the dress from my niece's wedding works for me in my wardrobe

 

A fun little BWOF jacket - one in a sueded cotton floral and another in unlined linen - one functions for winter and the other for summer.

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A jacket to go with some fur trim.

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Actually two different jackets - one is pale yellow (left) and light taupe (right) - left is jacket from a pants suit, and the other just a loose jacket.

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This is a little difficult in my wardrobe, even though the oxblood red and the taupey-green are wonderfully coordinating - but wow - I love the way this dress looks with this and will definitely wear this.

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Yep - this is that old BWOF redeux in that linen jacket - a great transition look for when it's warm, but I need to look cool (OK, no smart remarks!!!)

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These are both the same pattern - one is a Christmas version and the other (right) is a corduroy I saw at JoAnn's and just loved it....I knew it would be great in this style.

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Here's one thing that doesn't work.  This is a great pattern and looks delicious with my pants - particularly closely fitting pants, but this looks dowdy - too much covered up and won't work.  The colors are great, but it's the style that prevents this from working.

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Another jacket that matches in front and pockets - I think it's a little easier to see the pockets on this one.  But this jacket doesn't work either.  It's just too long although doesn't look that bad here, but it is.  I probably need to retire this from my wardrobe :-(((  I hate doing this with this one - it's a cotton fabric and works great as a transition jacket!

Hopefully this will prompt you to go through your closet when you're considering a new piece for your wardrobe.  It suddenly makes a huge difference and makes your designing and sewing go a lot further!

                       

MMW - Probably not the last post on this subject...

One of the most fun surprises at my muse's wedding, and there were so many, was that my niece had a gospel choir come sing "O Happy Day" at the end of the service. 

 

Here they are before the service getting ready.

The walked down the outside isles of the church and started singing while the bridal party left the church, then they recessed behind the bridal party singing the entire way. 

It was magnificent.

This was one of the first weddings in the new chapel at my niece's church, and the minister was assured that this was the the best christening it could have had!

There will be video to follow of this most whimsical and serendipitous occasion!

My Halloween fashion victims list!

I'm Irish, so my Halloween comes to me from my Irish heritage.  I'm also a graduate of All Saint's School for Girls, and have a great fondness for All Saints Day.

One of my favorite examples of this is the beautiful transition from the ominous sounding "Night on Bald Mountain" to "Ave Maria" in Disney's Classic Fantasia

Isn't YouTube Great!!!

But Halloween is more than this!!!  For we fashionistas, it's a delicious time to relish in complete fashion failure...the Faux Paux Follies....The thongs that have gone awry and other horrible accidents.

I like to think of this as a time of purposely being tacky just so we can get this out of our systems, just in time for the holidays.  Some people don't quite make it past Halloween, but we won't mention names here - just pictures.

So here's my nominations for this years Halloween Hilarious Horrors!  But warning, if you are just a little skittish about visual pollution, please avert your eyes quickly, and it would probably be wise to take the little children into another room before you continue!

There, now, that we're in private...here goes:

 

John Galliano is a really good designer, and I really don't think he needs to do this sort of thing.  And I like a lot going on just as much as the next person, but this misses the mark - I'm sorry - it's just not pretty - no way.

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Cruella is such a delicious perennial favorite, and Glenn Close played this to the hilt, which made this character even more the Cruella we love to point at and laugh!

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Now I ask you - is this REALLY fashion?

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And how could anyone thing this is even remotely close to stylish?...is there a purpose to this?

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Ooops - a bag lady went wrong.

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Uuuuuh - please - no!

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I'm speechless!

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OK - now that we've gotten that out of our systems...here's to a tasteful holiday season!!!

Enjoy Halloween!

Backing with netting

I should probably be a little more precise in my language here....I do depend so much on pictures cause I'm such a visual person.

I sort of use interlining and backing interchangeably and they really aren't meant to be used that way.

I think of an interlining as something that is required like behind a sheer fabric - something that will show through to the top side.  But a backing is something that is usually done to add body or stiffness to a fabric. 

However in the case of netting or petticoat I used petticoat as a method to keep my dress from wrinkling.

Here's a close up

I hope you can see that this is netting.

I think of crinoline as being a lot finer

 

The woven fabric is a lot tighter and smoother

 

Hopefully you can tell the difference here.

Believe it or not I have a hard time getting crinoline here, but petticoat netting is as easy as pie to come by.  I might use the crinoline if I had access to it, but I just don't have easy access to it.

This is part of that 50's/Mad Men culture, but back in those days, it was common to use petticoat or the netting - the stiff netting (as opposed to illusion or the netting one would use for a veil), as a backing.  The purpose was to keep the garment from wrinkling as most home sewists had very little access to good man-made fibers and fabrics, and there was very little sizing or finishing on fabrics in those days.

While I was working with it, there was a little bit of a rustle to the fabric and netting/petticoat and it alarmed me just a little, cause I didn't want to come down the isle noisier than Scarlet O'Hara!  At the same time, I had committed to using this to see if it worked.  I didn't remember it being noisy when I had used it before and worn it before so it was a little baffling.

But once I finished, the rustle seemed to stop.  Now if you have a full dress, there may be a little rustle, but you probably will have a "petticoat" and that would cause as much rustle as anything that would be used as the backing.

Here's a picture of what the inside looks like

 

This is easy enough to do, just cut the same pieces as the fashion fabric pieces have been cut from, and pin them together and then sew the pieces together....pin them so that the silk and petticoat are sewn as one.

I guarantee you will be thrilled with this.  It won't entirely stop wrinkling, but there were so many times I was squatting with my whole dress wadded up in my lap, and when I stood up and smoothed the dress out, there was very little evidence of wrinkling - a little, but it was remarkable. 

I'm getting ready to do a ball gown for a client who will be receiving an honor that will be televised locally and this is what I'm going to use for her gown, so that after she has been seated and stands up to accept her reward her dress won't be all wrinkled in the lap area.

Let's not talk about after doing all this work on a beautiful gown and then not having to steam it every 5 seconds or even as often.  This whole idea just gets more and more appealing!

So what did I wear

I know you're all dying to know....

I had seen that wonderful #115 out of 4/2009 dress and it had been haunting me, so I knew this would be perfect for this event. 

In the meantime, I had an old jacket that needed to be restyled too update the lines on it, so both of these would be fairly easy to accomplish.

I started out with a bolero that had huge shoulder pads in it and then had to take in that shoulder and side seam.  Most of the time the armscye is so deep in these extended shoulder pad sleeves, that some how you have to make that armscye a lot smaller.

In this case it was made a little simpler in that I had to take in the side seam. 

 

When you take up the side seam, you naturally make the armscye smaller.  If you want the armscye to remain the same, then you either have to let out the shoulder seam, or raise the armscye to match the sleeve head.

So this is what I did.  I really didn't need to change the sleeve head, but I did raise it up on the shoulder line enough to take up for the amount of fabric I lost in the armscye when I took up the side seam.

This sounds complicated, but all I really had to do was take up the side seam, then on my mannequin I just pinned in the sleeve head to where I wanted it and voila....

Here is is, and a much nicer and less obnoxious shoulder line.

This fabric came from Italy from a trip my parents took in the late 90's so to wear it to my niece's wedding was extra special.

It just so happened I had a nice piece of iridescent silk taffeta in my fabric stash that I pulled out the day before (yep, you guessed it - I did all this the day before and day off including a bridal shower!!!).

But I did something else extra to this dress to try out something I hadn't done in years.  In the olden days, we used to use petticoat fabric to keep our dresses from wrinkling.  It worked, but for some reason it's something that didn't last through time.

But I tried it on this dress, - sitting in the sanctuary, and at the reception, but wanting to look fresh for when we were up and down the isle or just whenever - I do have a rep to maintain and all.  And here is the dress after being worn all night long, up and down, in and out of car, moving stuff all around, squatting, bending over, sitting down at the church, reception and it just hung overnight, put it on the mannequin the next day and snap - here's how it looks after all that....

 

Remember, this is silk, that wrinkles at the drop of a hat.  Frankly even I was surprised, and it's brought back an old technique that I had forgotten and works beautifully.

It looked a lot less matronly on me at the time - I promise pictures of me in the dress from the wedding will be forthcoming - you won't be able to get out of this!!!

The Red Dress - part 2

For the rehearsal dinner for my niece's wedding we had a lot of fun.

My niece had tried on a wedding dresses when we were looking for something for her to walk down the isle in and we looked at the line of this back and both thought it was wonderful.  She tried it on and it looked elegant, but was just a little too bare for her wedding and a little too bare for church, but still had great lines.

Then I found this lace at Fabrique and it all came together....we would use the lace for the backing, and keep the dress line the same.  The dress was still elegant and evening-ish, and appropriate for church and elegant for evening.

We decided that the neckline needed a little something at the top, and me always wanting to make things a little more convertible, made them so they could be removed.

Obviously, this was on my mannequin and the dress did fit my niece not me (so excuse the zipper not closing all the way and the top closes nicely).  However you get a real good idea about the beauty of the lace and how appropriate it was for this dress.

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To me the real magic of this whole dress is that with a jacket it becomes an everyday casual dress. 

Without the jacket:

...it becomes this va-va-voom cocktail special dress!